- A recent study by personal finance platform GoBankingRates found the average number of hours those making the median hourly wage need to work in order to earn a comfortable salary in each US state.
- GoBankingRates looked at the cost of living in each state and doubled it to determine the comfortable living salary for that state, then divided that amount by the state’s median hourly wage.
- In some states, those making the median hourly wage need to work, on average, over 70 hours a week.
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In some states, a 40-hour workweek at the median hourly wage won’t earn you enough to live comfortably.
A recent study by personal finance platform GoBankingRates found the average amount of hours – in each US state – that those making the median hourly wage need to work in order to earn a comfortable living salary.
In some states, like South Dakota and New Jersey, those making the respective state’s median hourly wage need to work, on average, over 70 hours a week.
To gather this information, GoBankingRates looked at the average annual cost of living in each state (which includes the most recently available data for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare costs from the Missouri Economic and Research Center’s 2019 second quarter cost of living data series). When determining the salary needed to live comfortably, the researchers assumed the following budget: 50% is spent on necessary expenses, 30% is spent on nonessential items, and 20% is put into savings.
In order to then find the average number of hours someone making the state's median hourly wage would need to work in a week to live comfortably, GoBankingRates divided the annual salary needed to live comfortably by the state's median hourly wage.
You can read more about the study's methodology and data sources here.
Keep reading to find out the 15 states where employees making the median hourly wage have to work the most just to get by, ranked in increasing order.
15. In Massachusetts, those making the state's median hourly wage of $23.40 need to work an average of 68.56 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $41,713.84
Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,427.68
14. In Florida, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.62 need to work an average of 69.2 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $29,902.22
Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,804.93
13. In Alaska, those making the state's median hourly wage of $23.09 need to work an average of 69.32 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $41,615.90
Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,231.80
12. In Rhode Island, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.21 need to work an average of 69.94 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $36,750.27
Salary needed to live comfortably: $73,500.54
11. In South Dakota, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.08 need to work an average of 71.32 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $29,818.34
Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,636.68
10. In New Jersey, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.96 need to work an average of 71.63 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $39,032.86
Salary needed to live comfortably: $78,065.72
9. In Montana, those making the state's median hourly wage of $16.87 need to work an average of 71.75 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $31,468.98
Salary needed to live comfortably: $62,937.96
8. In Maryland, those making the state's median hourly wage of $21.49 need to work an average of 73.23 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $40,916.40
Salary needed to live comfortably: $81,832.80
7. In Vermont, those making the state's median hourly wage of $19.10 need to work an average of 73.47 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $36,487.10
Salary needed to live comfortably: $72,974.20
6. In New York, those making the state's median hourly wage of $21.63 need to work an average of 76.16 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $42,828.30
Salary needed to live comfortably: $85,656.60
5. In Maine, those making the state's median hourly wage of $17.85 need to work an average of 76.25 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $35,386.83
Salary needed to live comfortably: $70,773.65
4. In Nevada, those making the state's median hourly wage of $17.09 need to work an average of 76.51 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $33,994.26
Salary needed to live comfortably: $67,988.53
3. In California, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.40 need to work an average of 84.85 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $45,003.09
Salary needed to live comfortably: $90,006.19
2. In Oregon, those making the state's median hourly wage of $19.03 need to work an average of 84.91 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $42,011.24
Salary needed to live comfortably: $84,022.48
1. In Hawaii, those making the state's median hourly wage of $20.42 need to work an average of 121.86 hours a week to earn a comfortable salary.
Total annual cost of living: $64,695.32
Salary needed to live comfortably: $129,390.64
